By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
Entering her third season at Monett, coach Claire Head is pleased with the direction the Lady Cubs are heading.
Monett went from eight wins in Head’s first season at the helm two years ago to 18 wins during her second go-around last year.
“I have seen tremendous growth within the past two years,” Head said. “The first year was about laying the groundwork for the program and I felt like we made a big step forward last year, primarily in our mindset of how we came to play every day.”
The Lady Cubs will be aiming for their first back-to-back winning seasons since 2016 and 2017, which saw their program win a Class 3 state championship in ’17.
Monett welcomes back five returning starters from last year.
“Kilee Wilson will again lead us in the circle and Emma Velten will handle duties behind the plate,” Head said. “Halle Schoen will be returning from second base and Kaehler Swearingen and Lexy Sullivan are returning in the outfield. Halle will lead us on the infield. We have a few open positions that our newcomers will be fighting to claim. Kaehler and Lexy will continue to help us in the outfield. There will be a competition for the third outfield spot.”
Wilson is in her third season as Monett’s primary pitcher.
“I have seen improvement from her every year, both physically and mentally,” Head said. “I am excited to see what she can accomplish this year. We have a gap to fill for our No. 2 (pitcher). We have three girls who have been working over the summer to fill this position.”
Monett’s average of 7.8 runs a game last season was the highest for the program in five years. The Lady Cubs love to go for the extra base.
“Our mindset offensively is to be aggressive and to put pressure on the opposing pitcher and defense,” Head said. “We want to use our athleticism to our advantage and create extra opportunities from the other teams’ mistakes.”
The Big 8 Conference race will see each team play a home-and-away series against each other.
“The Big 8 was definitely affected by all of the conference realignment,” Head said, referring to three teams leaving the conference. “We previously played each team once, but now we will play each conference team twice.”
Monett will host a jamboree on its new home turf against Webb City and Seneca on Aug. 23.
New to Monett’s schedule this season is a trip to the Branson Tournament in September. Also, there will be no Big 8 Tournament this year.
